


The Story of Snow, a Tree, and Us

by RandomGuygoesviral



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: ? - Freeform, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Canon Compliant through episode 21, Either way it's a heckin sweet ship name, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Holice, Hollice, I love Jake More Than I Love Myself, Just to fill space, Light Angst, M/M, TAZ - Freeform, TAZ Amnesty, The Adventure Zone Amnesty - Freeform, The oc's are briefly mentioned, the adventure zone - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-24 01:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17695211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomGuygoesviral/pseuds/RandomGuygoesviral
Summary: Jake Coolice had a rough time with relationships.Hollis was no different, even if he really wanted them to be.(Canon Compliant through ep. 21, published before release of ep. 22)





	The Story of Snow, a Tree, and Us

**Author's Note:**

> Almost 6,000 words later! It's finally here! Dear god almighty this fic grew a mind of it's own it was not meant to be this long.

Jake had arrived on Earth, exiled, some time ago. In those years, he’d hardly left this place, the lodge, at all in that time. The year was 2007, and all he’d picked up was slang from the 90’s. 

The worst part was, not too long ago, he was granted the same luxury as one of his caretakers; a Sylv named Barclay. A glowing orange shard, albeit hanging from an ear. Then he got into a scuffle with some guards. He might have broken a guys leg. So, Jake was promptly thrown out.

And man did it suck. 

The people at the lodge were okay and all, but it didn’t make him any less upset. There was a girl named Dani and her sister. Jake didn’t quite remember the sisters name. Another person was a guy named Wybie, who got real excited when he found out that he wasn’t the youngest Sylv anymore. They were all… fine, something was just missing from it all.

It was the middle of winter, the trees and ground covered in bright and dazzling snow. Winter made him feel more comfortable, it was all but a part of him. He was sitting on a window seat with a stray cat curled up on his lap. One of the others tracked animals with ‘em and the cat was cute. His blond hair was frizzy, it was like  _ way _ too humid in this place. 

Jake tilted his head back, bumping it against the windowsill. This place was so boring, and he itched to  _ do _ something. Anything! That’s when the owner of the place came up to him, something tucked under her shoulder in a box. Mama was nice enough, in her late-ish thirties (man humans had really short lifespans), so he wasn’t all that surprised to see her approach. 

“Jake,” she said,” You need to go out ‘n do some shit. It ain’t healthy for a young guy like you to stay cooped up in a place like this all day.”

He just shrugged, though he did turn to face her. The cat on his lap scrambled off with a hiss. It was probably going to find the guy who got it in the first place. Jake looked indifferently up at Mama, eyebrow quirked. 

“We live in a goddamn ski town Jake,” as she spoke, the woman placed the box next to him,” Take this and some safety gear, go up to the ski lodge. Love a’ God! Do somethin’ other than mope around in the lobby all day e’ry day!”

Jake rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh. Despite his fascination with slang, he was mostly non-verbal. At least, he had been for the last few years. He grabbed the box and opened it up. It was… a board? A snowboard. It looked really… cool actually. Very stereotypically 90’s, which Jake liked. It was bright pink, and had boxy text reading “Rad” on the bottom. 

He cleared his throat, numb from a lack of use. “I…” Jake’s voice was soft, but it sounded as if it  _ could _ be strong,” Thanks.” 

Mama just nodded and went on her merry way, leaving Jake to his own devices. He, well, wasn’t entirely sure what to do? He knew ‘bout the ski lodge, a few of the younger Sylvs had tried to drag him up there once or twice. He’d refused up until that point. Now, however, he had no idea what to do. So he asked someone. Dani, he knew it was Dani because she had longer hair than her sister did.

\----

“I only ski, sorry about that, man!” Dani said cheerily.

She gave him directions to the ski place, at least. He threw on a windbreaker and found that, in the box with the board, was a pair of tinted goggles. He put those on to. After that, he left. Only to quickly get… kinda lost. Or, um, really lost. This was the first time he’d left the lodge in a good long while, he had an excuse. It took Jake just under an hour to get to the place he was supposed to go. At that point, he already regretted going.

He was a shorter kinda guy, even without the disguise. With it, he only stood at 5”4. Which is why, when someone that was at least 5”10 approached him, he froze up. Not in the literal way -thank everything- but he did slink in on himself. Already being quiet, that didn’t change much. 

The person walked up to him, a snowboard under their arm,” Hey, are you alright? You, uh, seem a little out of your element.”

Oh! They were friendly! They…  _ seemed _ friendly. Jake bit the inside of his cheek and looked to the side, leveling his breath. He didn’t want to be weird, and this was one of the first humans he’d ever talked to. 

“I… kinda am,” he grumbled hesitantly. 

“Have you been here before?” they asked. 

“Nope.”

Jake shifted uncomfortably, biting his lip softly. He couldn’t deny that he was still a little bit intimidated. Less now, for sure, but still enough that he didn’t really know what to say. He never knew what to say because he didn’t talk to people. Apparently, he had kinda tuned out. Because when he blinked back into reality, the person was talking again. 

“... show you the ropes. My name’s Hollis by the way.”

He just nodded slightly, not quite comprehending everything that they’d just said. When he saw them, uh- Hollis, looking at him expectantly, he realized that they were expecting an answer. Jake felt his cheeks grow warmer from embarrassment, man he was stupid. 

“Oh, um,” he sputtered,” Jake. I’m Jake.”

Hollis did, actually, teach him what to do. They were really good, and even if Jake was a fast learner, he was no match. It was as if they weren’t even trying to be cool, they were just like that naturally. Which was something Jake wanted, like a lot. The two of them ended up on the slopes for a while, like until the sun was going down awhile. 

They parted ways shortly after Jake had noticed the sun setting. Leaving with a promise to meet up again soon. For the first time since he’d arrived on Earth, he was excited for something. Hollis even have him a hug before leaving and he didn’t flinch away at all! 

\---

It was quiet in the lodge, everyone just going about their business. Moira was making most of the sound that was there at all, a soft tune on piano. The lobby hummed with life, quiet but bustling. Everything was soft and nice, until:

“Jaaaaake!” Shouted the voice of Dani,” Hollis is here! Get outside!”

In the time it took after she said his name, Jake had ripped out of his room and all but glided down the stairs. He was wearing a wrinkled button up, a horribly done tie, a jacket, and jeans. It was a mess. An absolute mess. 

Dani groaned. “Loose the tie you dummy,” she said. 

Jake rolled his eyes, but still threw off the tie. It unraveled in a heap next to him. The blond was bouncing on the balls of his feet, full of nervous energy. His eyes were covered by a pair of tinted sunglasses, which he pushed up onto his forehead after getting a  _ look _ from Dani. 

“I look okay, right?”

Dani laughed,” You look like you, Jake. It’s good. Now  _ go _ ”

“Right,” He exhaled,” right, yeah. Wish me luck!”

With that, he opened the door to the lodge, running out of it with a quick wave. Hollis was waiting on him on their -really rad- motorbike. And, of course, they made him look underdressed. It wasn’t like Hollis was wearing anything fancy, their clothing was just better. They’d always had a better sense of style, anyways. They were wearing a leather jacket and a scarf around their neck, neither of which were new. 

In their hands was a helmet and they had a cheeky smile on their lips. Jake sort of froze awkwardly about a yard away from them. As an impulse, he rubbed the back of his neck. 

“You look nice,” Hollis hummed, leaving Jake to sputter. 

“Aha, um, yeah!” he cleared his throat, shifting,” I- well, I mean. You… You look good too! Ha…”

They let out a soft laugh, rolling their eyes. Jake was pretty well known to be hyper- so this wasn’t anything new. He lost focus more than often. 

“Get on the bike, Jake.”

In response: he just kind of let out an awkward laugh. Then, well, Jake got on the bike. Hollis handed him the helmet they’d been holding and he quickly put it on. It was at that point that he really had a moment to just… take in what was happening. 

He and Hollis had known each other for two years at that point. A lot had changed in that time. Jake had opened up, growing closer to people like Dani, Moira, and Wybie. He’d become more like the adventurous, fun loving guy he was before his exile. Of course, he’d met more human friends at that point too. 

The two of them were going out. It wasn’t quite a date, not really, but it wasn’t quite a casual outing either. Jake and Hollis weren’t dating really. Well, they kinda were, but neither had officially confessed or asked the other out. They were just Jake and Hollis, against the small town of Kepler. 

“Jake,” Hollis said,” your grip’s loosening.”

Snapping back into his own mind, he nodded,” Right, sorry.”

After not too long, the two of them ended up just on the border of Kepler and another, nearby town. It wasn’t to far from a place they frequened, a run down bar called the Little Dipper. However, they had gone to somewhere slightly more upscale than the bar, hence why they were a -bit- more dressy.

Hollis hopped off the bike, taking off their helmet to reveal their pulled up hair. Which they promptly took out of the hair tie holding it in place. Their hair was frizzy from the helmet and an almost milk chocolate colour. 

Jake hopped off the bike after them, slipping off his helmet only to have his blond hair quickly fall over his face. He groaned, shaking his head to force things back in place. Even though he knew that the restaurant wasn’t anything fancy, hell it the perfect stereotypical midwestern diner, he still felt just a bit underdressed. Not to mention that he’d never been there before. Barclay’s cooking was usually just as good as anything. When Hollis heard that he’d never been, however, they insisted on taking him. 

“You ready?” they asked, turning to face him.

All Jake did was nod quickly before Hollis had grabbed his hand and started dragging him to the diner. He remembered distinctly muttering something about knowing how to walk through an excited laugh. Eventually, he managed to catch up next to the other, gripping their hand more properly. Sure, it wasn’t quite a date, but Jake was honestly affectionate with anyone. 

The two young adults walked into the diner, a spring in both their steps. They got a few glares, because obviously they were both traditionally more masculine and were holding hands, but it was West Virginia and to be expected. Not everyone in the state was quite as accepting as the folks in Kepler. Jake just sighed and Hollis moved protectively closer to him. Walking smoothly to a booth, they sat down. Waiting patiently to order with some paper menus in their hands. 

Within the next few minutes, they managed to order their food and drinks. The two snowboarders were on opposite sides of the booth, both leaning propped against the marble table. From Jake’s perspective, he could see another male sitting in the both behind theirs. He was of average height, and seemed to be of asian decent. That man was also glaring straight at Jake.

“Um…”

“What are you looking at you Ken Doll reject?” The man suddenly yelled, leaning forward against his table.

Hollis raised their brow and turned, placing an arm on the top of the booth,” Probably at the dick who’s trying to pick a fight.”

Jake snorted, before quickly covering his mouth to stifle a laugh. 

“Who are you to call me a dick! Goddamn man child…”

Jake made a mistake at that moment, not one that anyone would notice, but a mistake. The soda the guy was drinking seemed to condensate just a little bit more than it should have. For a moment, Jake was breathless. He took a breath and glared at the guy, anger flaring in his icy eyes. 

“That’s Hollis. And  _ they’re _ not a man. The only man child here is you,” he snapped, clenching his fists. 

Hollis quietly muttered,” Thanks, Jake.”

The man who’d been berating the two of them suddenly broke into a howl of laugher, slapping the table. Suddenly, a teen walked up with Jake and Hollis’s order, placing it on their table. She took one look at the laughing male and let out a long sigh. 

“Dun worry y’all,” the girl, who’s name tag read Pigeon, said,” That’s just Keith. A spunky guy, he is, and a real jerk too. ‘S probly high.”

She glared at him, Keith, before turning back to continue her waitressing. Keith rolled his eyes and sat up, taking his drink and twirling it with the straw. He was still letting out a few fitful laughs every now and again, but he seemed otherwise normal.

“Not high this time bird brain!” he called after the girl suddenly,” Not drunk either!”

The response he got was somewhere between the words ‘motherfucker’ and ‘french toast’. The guy leaned back against his table, taking a lazy sip of soda. He ignored the straw he’d just been spinning the drink with completely. More than anything, he was watching them both. With the eyes of a predator watching prey.

“Look,” Hollis said,” I don’t know what your deal is, other than the whole blatant transphobia thing, but I don’t like it. What do you want ‘Keith’?”

“I’ve seen y’all boarding,” he said simply, shrugging his shoulders,” I want in.”

Jake was wearing a confused expression and Hollis matched it. They both just…did stuff together. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. It was just like two people drawing together, but more extreme sports-y. 

“What dya’ mean by that?” Hollis asked after a minute,” We ain't some team if that’s what your thinkin’.”

“Then why not start one?”

\----

Dani and Jake were next to each other, holding each other tightly as they sobbed. Even in their Sylvain forms, the two were battered and bruised, shaking. An orb of freezing air hung around them, as cold as the night was dark. And that night it was pitch. 

An abomination struck. They hadn’t been prepared. Jake and Dani watched and hid away as those closest to them died. There was nothing that could possibly be done. They lost

_ They Lost _ .

\----

Jake scratched nervously at the bandages around his arm, hiding the deep gashes from that… that  _ thing _ . He, Hollis, and Keith were doing important stuff today, so he was just going to have to deal with the pain for now. To be honest, he still didn’t like Keith all the much. Keith and Hollis got on well enough, though, and he didn’t really want to complain. Not about anything.

“Jake!” he heard Hollis say, before they picked him up and hugged him,” You’ve got the fliers, right?”

He nodded as they put him down, digging into the backpack he was carrying with him and pulling out at least fifty handmade fliers, all reading  **Kepler Stunt Club** in bold, bright text. Then, he plopped them on the bench table with a grin, foot tapping as he took a seat. The three of them counted up exactly how many fliers there were quickly, all eager to start passing them out up on mt. Kepler.

“That’s… 51, I think?” Hollis muttered,” how many do we-”

“17.” Jake stated without a second thought. Then, realizing that it was weird to just say that,” We each get 17, um, I’m good with numbers.”

“Yeah…” Keith said, an odd look on his face. 

They all headed out to the mountain after that. Not many people were up there in the middle of spring. Which was something the group should of expected. Combined, the three of them only managed to and out twelve, and Jake single handedly made up half of that number.

After that failure, they looked went back out to town. Which, as it was getting slowly closer to Easter, was a lot more successful. Agreeing to meet back up by Leo’s Store in two hours, the group split up. 

Jake had it easy, he managed to land the part of town where high schoolers would hang out during their lunch period. He’d learned when those were so he could avoid the aggressive jerks who were cutting class. It helped that he was just a generally sociable person, with an electric personality. He was oddly good at winning people over. 

“Heya dude!” he called to a lanky guy, near that weird ‘museum’ place,” Would you be interested in joining the Kepler Stunt Club?”

The guy let out a breath,” Sorry… I’m really more of an artist… thanks though.”

“Alrighty! Thank ya’ anyways!” Jake nodded, bounding back off to find other people.

He ended up handing out all eleven of his remaining fliers in just under an hour. So he still had a full hour to burn. As carefully as he could, he crossed back into the forest through a back road and let out a long breath. After making absolutely sure that he was alone, Jake carefully undid his earing, pulling out the teardrop shaped stud.

He wasn’t really much different like this. His face shape was the same, so were his eyes. One of the more noticeable parts was his height, he was closer to 5”8- and his skin was so pale that it was almost blue. Jake’s hair was as white as snow, and if someone cared to notice, he didn’t have a pulse. 

The change in height always messed with him for the first minute or so, but he still managed to scramble up a tree and out of sight. Frost crisped the leaves around him as he dangled his legs from the tree. He had forty five minutes until he and the other guys had to meet back up. Which meant he needed to leave in thirty to get back to Leo’s in time. That was then, Jake reasoned, he still had half an hour to relax as himself.

He was sure more drastic changes like Barclay or… (no, nevermind, he didn’t want to think about him) someone were more realeaving. Jake, at least, was humanoid. Still, it was nice to have moments where he didn’t just have to be cooped up all the time. Elven ears were so much better than human ears.

It was in his nature to cause some mischief. He couldn’t be like this and not. From the tree he was in, he could see a pour over from the river, almost a tiny waterfall. With a lazy wave, it was frozen solid. Obviously then he realized that he had fourteen minutes to get back.

So Jake quickly shoved his earing back through the hole and just about slid down the tree he was in, and made a break back for town. He timed it well, too, if cutting it a little bit close. Jake was there before Keith in case, which he was going to keep in mind. Turning his focus to Hollis, he noticed that they were holding one last flier.

“I didn’t have the time to give out the last one,” they confessed. 

Jake nodded as they both waited for Keith to show up. He did, ten minutes past the deadline, still holding at least four fliers. Hollis stifled a laugh and Jake smirked. As for Keith, he simply threw all his remaining fliers on the ground with a grunt.

“Welp,” Jake said through a laugh,” I should probably head back to the lodge, Dani’s gonna kill me if I’m not back there soon.”

He waved the other two bye and headed back into the forest. Despite the serious stuff that had happened a few days before, Jake couldn’t help but hold himself a little bit higher after that. Who knew that passing out a bunch of paper would make him feel better?

\----

“What the  _ fuck _ Jake?!

“What do you  _ mean _ ‘what the fuck’ Hollis? You’re hypothermic!”

“And?”

“You’re  _ dying _ !’

“It’s hot.”

_ “No the HELL it’s not _ !”

\----

Jake and Hollis had never really asked each other out. They sure as hell had a breakup, though. A nasty one at that. Neither would even talk to the other for a long time. It would hurt them both for a long while too. One of the most important factors was the fact that had known each other for so long, and then they just cut ties.

Jake was sitting on the curb of a Kepler street, clutching at his chest as he listened to a person he loved (God, he still loved them) screamed at him. It was all he could do. Focus numbly on their words to avoid bursting to tears. He was red in the face just from the strain of not crying.

“I can’t believe you Jake Coolice!” Hollis yelled, voice high with anger,” You just let those guys fall! People got hurt Jake! Keith fucking got hurt!”

At that, Jake felt something snap inside him, like a firecracker bursting,” And you think I didn’t  _ want _ to help?! You know I was  _ terrified _ , right? Because some of my best friends died like less than a year ago! I was scared! I didn’t want to lose anyone else! I froze! Do you want to know something Hollis?” he pushed himself up, standing,” At least Keith didn’t pretend to care about me! The guy never liked me. But,  _ shit, _ I thought you  _ fucking _ loved me at one point! Not to mention! This isn’t even a club anymore, we’ve made a goddamn  _ gang _ Hollis! I’m done!”

And he just kind of… broke down after that. Jake had been shaking for a while at that point, and well, the damn full out broke. He wrapped his arms around himself and just started sobbing. Cheeks and nose bright red, cheeks aching dully as tears poured. Even through his fuzzy vision, he could see the expression on Hollis’s face. It was almost… scared? Scared and angry, and so many other things that Jake couldn’t comprehend while having a breakdown. 

“Jake-”

“D-don’t touch me!” he yelped through heavy breaths,” P-please… Just… leave me alone. I… I can’t- I don’t… I…”

He hightailed to the forest after that, body still shaking. Hollis didn’t even try to follow. Jake knew they wouldn’t. Both of them knew that their time was over, and it wasn’t coming back. 

For the first time ever, Jake Coolice felt the stinging cold of winter. Numbing his bright red lips and freezing his tears to his patchy cheeks. He got to the lodge in a flurry of ice and snow, throwing open the door fitfully and running straight to his room. The door of his room slammed so hard it shook the whole building. Frost crackled on his window, snaking up in lacey patterns. 

Jake tore off his jacket and threw it to the side, chucking his shoes at the wall as he balled himself up on his bed. That was… that was the first time he’d ever just screamed at Hollis. Sure, they’d gotten into fights before, but… now it was done. He gagged softly, physically nauseous.

“Jake!” that was Dani,” Holy shit Jake! Are you okay?”

“Go away!...” he said in a raspy voice.

Dani promptly forced her way into Jake’s room after that,” Jake what happened to you?” 

He was scooped up into a hug, and he didn’t even fight it. Jake was too tired to fight it. Too full of emotion and utterly worn to be loud. To scream or fight. Dani gave good hugs anyways. She was warm, Jake wasn’t. Quietly, he cried against her for a while, just trying to regain some inkling of composure. It wasn’t easy to draw up the ability to talk again. Part of him thought about how easy it would be to go non verbal again.

“...me ‘n Hollis split.”

“Oh Jake…”

\----

In walked a girl who radiated a fiery passion, into the lodge. Mama at her side. He got to go clear a room for her, and he instantly knew the way she looked at Dani. There was a stinging in his chest, but he kept his chin up and made a room. He liked this girl, her name was Aubrey Little. 

\----

At least two Hornets were dead. Another three were in the hospital. Jake’s mind was reeling as he sat in the hot springs, breathing not quite right. He… couldn’t focus. So he just hopped out of the springs and forcing clothes back onto his body. Things were happening, he could tell. Even without seeing it, he knew that something was going on. Shoving on a beanie to cover his ratty hair, Jake headed to the front of the lodge.

He didn’t like what he saw. Jake didn’t even have to walk out the door to see the bikes surrounding the lodge. He froze. What else could he do? This was the hornets, they were at the lodge. Why where they at the lodge? Why now?

“You’ve all been relieved of duty, we’ll take it from here.” That… was Hollis. 

Jake stumbled, suddenly light headed. In a state of panic, he ended up standing there, in front of an open door. And there was Hollis… and Keith, and… everyone. He froze and realized that more than one person was staring at him. Jake took a breath, ready to speak, but someone cut down.

“Oh, Jake Coolice is one of these freaks,” sneered Keith, a hint of something sinister in his eyes,” I should have known. He was already lame anyways.”

The Pine Guard were there, Aubrey, Ned, and Duck. The look Aubrey gave Keith at that moment could kill a man. Keith’s expression made it seem like it  _ did _ . Her eyes screamed murder and her body language said  _ ‘run’ _ . He almost did, too. At least, he backed up between… Hollis.

“Jake,” they said.

“Hollis.” Jake mirrored.

“Why are you here?” Jake asked dully, seeing Aubrey move slightly closer to him.

Keith took the chance to step in,” You freaks killed people.”

Aubrey seemed to flare up at this, and for a moment, everything heated up. Then it cooled down before leveling out. She gave Jake a glance at this.

“Who the hell are you calling a freak you absolute dipshit?” seethed Aubrey,” None of us are mur… Jake isn’t a murderer! Neither is anyone else here!”

Keith lunged at Jake, and simultaneously, two people blocked his path. Aubrey stepped in front of the blond, eyes as bright was fire. Hollis grabbed his arm and glared. He seemed like he was going to struggle at first, but after a moment just rolled his eyes and groaned.

“That’s quite enough Keith.”

And Jake just walked back into the lodge, fists clenched so tight that his knuckles had gone white. He had grown up, he wasn’t going to cry because of this. He wasn’t even sad, really. Hell, he was only barely aware of the fact that Keith’d called him a murderer. Sitting down on the couch, he let out a forced breath. This was fine,  _ he _ was fine. Jake wasn’t going to break down because people he used to trust hated him. They were  _ always _ going to hate him, and there was nothing he could do about it. 

Especially with the abomination going around. That thing was the murderer, not him. Not… not anyone else in the lodge. No one there would kill. Not intentionally. The people in the lodge were good, all of them. He couldn’t believe that one of them had hurt someone. He  _ wouldn’t _ believe that one of them had hurt  _ anyone _ .

This... this was too much. Jake just wanted to rest and not think about it.

\----

Adrenaline coursed fiercely through Jake, pounding behind his ears. No no no, he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t. There was a gash on his stomach, he could feel it. It was bleeding, it hurt, but everything was numb. His fingers were numb with cold and he felt light lightheaded. That was probably because of the bloodloss, right?

He forced down a hoarse breath and leaned against a tree. Almost without realizing it, he was tugging at his earring. Jake almost forgot that the hornets were there. Almost. Being aware that they were made him hesitate. He’d made a mistake. 

In almost an instant, Jake had found himself on the ground, eyes going wide with pain. No. Why, no no, that wasn’t good. That really hurt. Nothing else was bleeding but now everything hurt. Now everything hurt but he  _ had  _ to do something really reckless because bad things would happen if he didn’t. Worse things.

He pulled the earing out and felt his anatomy shift. Instantly: the temperature around him dropped. Even being as dully aware as he was, he knew his breathing was all wrong. It was too heavy and so completely not normal. Only a second passed before he realized what was happening. His body was trying to freeze itself. Which he absolutely couldn’t let happen. 

Jake squeezed his eyes shut and forced his body against another tree and tried to get his eyes to focus correctly. Everything was fuzzy as he blinked around the pain. It focused up on that…  _ thing _ . Whatever that thing was. Because that was  _ not _ fucking Dani. Everything about it was almost Dani, but that wasn’t her. 

Then it lunged for something. Or rather, someone. From the voice he heard yell… it was Hollis. He didn’t even think about it. A wave of ice shot between it and Hollis. They didn’t stop shouting, but the thing did stop. It looked incredibly pissed, but it wasn’t going to hurt them. Or hopefully anyone else.

He didn’t get to check, though. Because the minute after he produced the wall of ice, Jake lost consciousness. 

\----

Jake woke up in the lodge.

When he did, the first thing he noticed was just how much pain he was in. It was, obviously, a lot. A lot a lot. The first thing he tried to do was sit up, but the loud and pitchy yelp of pain he emitted proved that to be a bad idea. It also alerted people to him being awake. People meant Aubrey, really. She had come out more or less… okay. Shaken up, but okay.

“Jake!” she said, whipping around to face him,” You’re okay! Um, awake!”

“I guess I am,” he shrugged, cringing slightly at the motion.

“I want to hug you!” Aubrey yelled,” But I also want to smack you in the face! What the fuck Jake? What the fuck?”

He let out a good natured laugh despite the pain it caused. Because he was totally expecting a response like that. He would have been disappointed if he didn’t get that sorta reaction from Aubrey. ‘Meant that she cared. Which he hadn’t doubted, but still. Trust had never been… super easy for him. 

“I fucked up man,” he said with a smile,” Fucked up real bad!”

Gasp! “You swore! That’s illegal!” 

Jake and Aubrey spent the next while joking around together, trying to lift one anothers spirits. Which worked shockingly well all things considered. Between shitty monster(s) trying to kill everyone, to a bunch of people in a gang knowing about the Sylvs, the hunt had gotten pretty crazy. Crazy wasn’t new for the Pine Guard, but this took it almost to a different level. Even the time Jake almost drowned seemed pretty tame in comparrassion. Though near-death experiences were never good… like, in general. 

And then there was a knock at the door. And the room went silent. Then the knock got louder, and louder, and louder still. Until there was a voice.

“Um… Mama said Jake was in here.”

Jake and Aubrey stared at each other, both immediately knowing just who that voice belonged to. It- it was Hollis. There was no doubt. The pure and unfiltered terror that flashed in Jake’s eyes was enough to make time stand still.

“Why do you care?” Aubrey sneered after a minute.

The tension in and in front of the room was so thick that she could probably set it on fire. 

“I wanted to apologize, but…”

Perking up, Jake shifted to face the door. Why in the name of all things good would Hollis want to apologize to him? They weren’t quite the most forgiving person in the world. Especially after Jake had… pulled that stunt with the ice and… nevermind.

“Why?” he felt himself ask.

The floorboards near the door creaked,” This’d probably be easier face to face, ya’know?”

Aubrey shot him a glance and he just sighed,” Let them in.”

As Aubrey did not have a gash in her stomach, she stood up to get the door. It was locked from the inside so no one would be able to screw with their earlier conversation. When she swung it open, sure enough, Hollis was standing there. Or they more just… instantly defaulted to leaning against the doorframe. 

“Hollis.”

“Jake.”

“Jake I-” there was a distinct pause,” Okay. Jake. I’m sorry we… um… left things off on such a bad note. I don’t, I mean, I don’t honestly expect you to forgive and forget, but I… uh, friends. Maybe?”

That was it? Nothing about the fact that he’d turned into a literal monster in front of them? Not a thing about how they made a fun club into an agressive gang, no matter how much he’d tried to convince them not to? None of that, just how they left off on a bad note. 

Something stirred in Jake, but he pushed it aside. He was mad. Obviously he was mad! Who wouldn’t be mad? But… he wasn’t quite- angry if that made sense. Upset and full of emotion, sure, but not angry. Not necessarily. Part of him wanted to be genuinely scorchingly angry at them but that just wasn’t quite his style. None of what was happening right now was his style!

“We’re not friends.” Jake said simply.

“Honestly I expected that I’m not even sure what I was-”

“ **_But_ ** ,” he added,” I don’t want to hate you. I never  _ did _ hate you. So… no. We aren’t friends. But maybe it’s time we know each other again.”

_ Again.  _

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting this before ep. 22 comes out. I'm so ready for this whole thing to become invalid the moment the next episode comes out. In fact, I'm almost begging for it.   
> I'm also super sorry if the ending feels rushed, I wanted to get it out while I could still tag it as canon compliant.


End file.
